Blog - Baby Booties

In Mongolia, the sheep and the humans live in a mutually beneficial relationship. It's so important to Mongolians that they call wool "white gold."

Wool is a miraculous material. 100% wool is a
temperature regulator that stays cool in summer and warm in winter. It repels water, but if
soaked, it can still retain
heat. This amazing substance is multi-climatic/trans-seasonal.

It’s a 100% renewable resource. Wool that is derived from the sheep of Mongolia is
removed humanely and
the animals are free to roam all over. In fact, most days, the sheep go out on
their own all day and only return to the family at night.

It’s also easy to care for. Each fiber has a natural waxy coating that protects it. This makes wool
products stain-resistant and naturally
anti-static. Such easy care is often a surprise to most people. They’re
used to industrial wool that
has been chemically treated
and abused to remove all of the natural oils and coatings.

Unlike most synthetic materials, wool
breathes. It’s better
for your skin, especially your
feet, because air flows in
and out.

Because the fibers are naturally elastic, wool stretches comfortably, ensuring that your shoes or clothes
fit even when your feet have swollen or you’ve gained a pound or two. Wool also
returns to its original shape
easily, so wool shoes and clothes don’t get stretched out.

Wool is very eco-friendly. Many people protest
the wool industry, but this naturally
derived fiber will be part of the solution to the world’s ecological
problems. It degrades
quickly and easily and is also safer
to wear; it’s naturally flame-retardant
and doesn’t melt to the skin when it does burn.

How it’s made?

Mongolian wool is taken off of the sheep in
the spring, before the summer heat hits. They are gently sheared
by hand. The sheep, like big dogs, enjoy it as their heavy winter coat is removed from them. The Mongolians call the wool noos at
this point.

Once the wool is removed, it’s carefully washed using only water, 100%
natural soap and soda ash.. Using the right soap keeps the natural oils in the wool giving
it a quality that cannot be found in any synthetic materials.

Then the wool is carded. This is where two
boards or a wheel and a board that
are covered with small hooks are passed by each other in opposite directions. This combs the
wool into one direction.

If a specific color is desired, the wool is dyed as this point. Wool is a colorfast
material that accepts
dye very well.

This process keeps the wool “alive.” The
living wool keeps its natural oils and resilience.

The
wool is then pressed into the shape that’s needed, in the case of Zudari, for
shoes. It’s wet with
soap and water when the artisan begins working on it. The wool is hand-kneaded and patted for 45 minutes to an hour. It’s
sized and dried on shoe trees to ensure that the shoes are the perfect size. In
Mongolian, the wool at this point is called esgii.

Mongolian
sheep and their humans

Mongolian wool is unique. It’s gathered and processed by Mongolian families.
They care for the sheep, process the wool, and make the boots. This means that everything they do,
whether it’s make
boots for Zudari or make cloth for other businesses, is done with a careful eye to perfection. To
them, the sheep aren’t just a commodity; they are the family’s lifeblood. It’s clear from the way they treat the
sheep, they not only work with them, but they honor them.

For tens of thousands of years, the wool that sheep gave to the
Mongolians kept them alive. Wool is such a good natural insulator that their tents are made from it, their clothes are made from it, and their shoes are made from it.

Mongolians see the wool as a living organism.
This leads them to treat sheep and the wool in a way that most Westerners don’t
understand.

Why
choose handmade over machines?

The hands of master craftsperson can give wool
the life it deserves.
His or her hands can feel the fibers, craft the ideal shapes, and create
something that can
last for decades.

Machines do not impart the one thing that a master can: soul.
Things that are made with care and time
have a soul that
machine-made items don’t have.

Zudari only works with the families of the steppes of Mongolia. Each source is carefully vetted to make
sure they adhere to the natural, time-tested methods of caring for the animals,
letting them roam and graze.

Why
Mongolian Wool?

There is no place else on the planet where the sheep are treated so well. Where the sun, the wind,
and the grasses of this vast pure land give the wool all of the natural
benefits that it’s
meant to have. Crafted into amazing boots for the entire family, this is one of
nature’s most amazing gifts which we repay by helping to keep the sheep and
people of the region well-fed and well-reimbursed for the hours of labor each
pair of Zudari boots requires.

Mongolian
wool is not felt!

No. Felt contains some wool with synthetic
ingredients and lot of chemicals. Felt doesn’t provide the same protection and
temperature regulation that natural wool does.

Wool can’t be abused if it’s going to keep all
of these amazing qualities. The Mongolian way of handling is the key to truly
amazing wool boots and shoes.

Life-changing
materials

See how life-changing a return to the ancient
styles of shoes can be. You
too were made for wool. Let these shoes be a part of the revolution that
will take us back to the good old ways.